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USTA Announces Full Capacity For 2021 U.S. Open

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The United States Tennis Association announced that fans will be welcomed back to the US Open for the 2021 tournament, and that tickets to the event will be put on sale to the general public on Thursday, July 15, beginning at 12 pm ET.  Additionally, longtime US Open partner American Express will offer a US Open ticket pre-sale for American Express ® Card Members from Monday, July 12, beginning at 9 am ET, and concluding on Wednesday, July 14 at 8 pm ET.  Terms apply.

The US Open will be at 100% capacity for the two-week tournament, and all ticket categories for the 25 sessions, from reserved stadium seating to general admission grounds passes, will be available. Tickets can be purchased by visiting USOpen.org and Ticketmaster. 

“We are extremely excited to be able to welcome our incredible fans back to the US Open this year,” said Mike Dowse, USTA CEO. “While we were proud that we were able to hold the event in 2020, we missed having our fans on-site, because we know that they are a large part of what makes the US Open experience unlike any other. Indeed, the challenges presented by the pandemic were tough on us all, but our sport came together like never before and tackled each challenge head on. Interest in tennis has accelerated, with four million new and returning players taking to the court last year. Our sport surged in the toughest of times, and this year’s US Open promises to be an unforgettable celebration of the game, those who play it, and those who revel in it.”

The tournament will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from Monday, August 30, through Sunday, September 12.  The US Open will continue to follow CDC COVID-related guidelines that are in effect. 

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 655,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking nine summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network.For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

For John Powless, Tennis Was The “Sport of a Lifetime”

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John Powless, one of the most highly regarded senior tennis players in the United States who also happed to have coached basketball and tennis at the University of Wisconsin, died May 20 at the age of 88. In 2017, Powless was one of the featured tennis players in the book “Sport of a Lifetime: Enduring Personal Stories From Tennis” by Judy Aydelott and published by New Chapter Press (for sale and download here https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559645/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_DABA1C74A7EVNDZ1E4CV via Amazon.com) The book highlighted some of the great senior tennis player in the United States. There’s no doubt that Powless should be included in a book of this ilk.  The chapter on Powless is excerpted below.

John Powless is a hard man to pin down. He travels the world playing in senior and super senior tennis events. However, I finally cornered him at a hotel in Virginia Beach where he was playing the USTA National 80-and-over clay courts in singles and doubles.

            Tall, 6 foot, 5 inches, handsome with a shock of well-coifed white hair, and as personable and positive as they come, we found a computer room that the hotel front desk said we could use. Space was tight, but John curled his long legs under a chair, and we began our journey.

            John, born on August 24, 1932 during the Depression, was raised on a large farm in the small town of Flora, population approximately 4,000, in southern Illinois. He lived with his extended family of great grandfather, grandfather, grandmother, parents, aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins, all under one roof in a large farmhouse.         

            “I slept in the attic on a straw mattress,” he said. “But when an aunt or an uncle or somebody went away on business or whatever, I’d take up residence on their feather bed till they returned. 

            “Everybody worked on the farm,” John explained further. “We had no running water, no heat and no electricity, and nothing was motorized. When I was nine, I started plowing with a single blade plow pulled by one of our work horses. The farm was large, very large, probably several hundred acres. We grew acres and acres of crops – all kinds – and we’d grow alfalfa for the horses and cows to eat. The alfalfa was harvested and packed into large stacks and left in the fields so the animals could feast at their leisure.”

            “Did you have a large herd of cattle?” I asked.

            “No, we kept the cows just for our own family needs. We didn’t sell any milk or dairy products.” 

            “Did the Depression have an impact on your lives?”

            “No, it really didn’t. To begin with, we didn’t have running water, electricity or mechanized equipment. We didn’t have anything invested in the stock market. We were hard working farm people. Life didn’t change for us.”

            “But World War II did have an impact,” he said. “I was too young to enter the service, but many of my relatives served. I’ll never forget one day when I was 9 or 10. I was out by our barn, and I saw a small World War II plane, a P-38 Lightning, heading toward me. The plane flew very low over our barn, turned upside down, and there was my uncle flying his plane, a Pathfinder, giving me a salute! I saluted right back.”

            John paused and added, “I often wondered if he ever got into trouble for that maneuver.”

            I asked, “So John, you grew up on a farm, and everybody worked their butts off. How in the world did you get started in tennis?”

            “My Dad was a tennis player,” he said. “When he was 18 or so, he was hustling this good looking gal who played tennis. She told him that she wasn’t interested unless he could beat her. So he set out to learn the game, and a match between them was arranged. Unfortunately, the young lady beat my Dad, and the romance was over. But not his romance with tennis. He kept at his game and became quite a player.”

            “You told me Flora is in southern Illinois, but was it unique in any way?”

            “Flora was on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and a large, three-story depot was built in the early 1900s to accommodate all the passenger trains that came through every day. And one of the town’s annual attractions was a tennis tournament on the 4th of July. We’d have a draw of 128 players coming from all over, even some well-known players, Dick Savitt being one. And my Dad usually did pretty well and became fairly well-known. One day, a gentleman, Louis Roeder, got off the train hoping to play my Dad whom he had heard of. I’ll never forget it. He was dressed in a double-breasted suit. I’d never seen such a suit. So he introduces himself to my Dad and says, ‘Cecil, so when am I going to get to play you?’ My Dad replied, ‘You have to beat my kid here if you want to play me.’ The poor guy never got to play my Dad!”

John laughed at the thought of one of his early victories on the tennis court.

            But Louis Roeder, who happened to be a reporter, first covering the New York Giants and then the New York Yankees, kept in touch with young John, especially when John played in the national tournaments at Forest Hills in New York. Roeder took him out to dinner during the tournaments and continued to be a mentor of sorts.

            Continuing in his non-stop, stream of consciousness fashion, John said, “When I was 11, I went to enter a local tournament. I had my racquet, and I wore my usual tennis clothes: bib overalls but no shoes or shirt. The tournament director defaulted me because I didn’t have ‘the proper attire.’

            “While I was still a kid, my father and I built a dirt tennis court on our farm, and folks from all around came to play on it. The court became known as the “Frog Island Tennis Court.”

            “How did you come up with that name?”

            “Well, every time it rained, the frogs would come out and take over the court. So, we started this tradition that if you wanted to play after the rain you had to catch a frog. And to make it more exciting, you had to catch the frog after dark. Have you ever tried to catch a frog after dark?”

            “I can’t say that I have.”

            “It’s not easy because if you just go after the frog he’ll jump away, and you’ll end up with a fist full of mud. What you have to do is shine a flashlight at the frog. Then you’ve got him.”

            “You’ve got some great stories.” John just smiled broadly.

            “And the best part is, they’re true,” he said.

            “Now, when you got to high school, did your high school have a tennis team?” I asked.

            “Oh yes. In our high school, everybody had to play three sports, and the only three sports offered were football in the fall, basketball in the winter and tennis in the spring.”

            “No baseball? America’s favorite sport?”

            “No baseball. A lot of the people who lived in Flora were oil people from Texas and Oklahoma. Their sports were softball and tennis. So, the school wasn’t going to have a softball team because no other school in the area had softball teams. Tennis became the third sport. We’d start football practice in August, and once that started, all the basketball hoops in town were taken down. No sneaking in pick-up games with your buddies on the side. When basketball practice started, the same thing. All the boys in school concentrated solely on basketball. Then came tennis – same deal.

            “We’d have our practices after school, and then at 9 p.m. every night the town whistle blew meaning all the kids had to get home and go to bed. That was one way to take care of idle mischief.”

            “How’d you do on the tennis team?”

            “Glad you asked,” answered John, grinning. “I won the State Championship my senior year, and that had never happened in little Flora.”

            “Has it happened since?”

            “No, it hasn’t. That’s a pretty good long-standing record. And it was a pretty good win. I beat the No. 2 player in the U.S. juniors, Al Kuhn from Evanston High School. Over the years we’ve played against each other many times, and we’ve become great friends.”

            After high school, John went to a pharmacy school in Michigan but soon transferred to Murray State in Murray, Kentucky. He played forward on the basketball team all four years and led the team to the Kentucky Invitational title.

            “And I set the single scoring record at the time – 34 points in one game.”

            In tennis, John was equally triumphant, never losing a match in all three years of varsity competition. He also was the Ohio Valley Conference singles and doubles champion all three seasons.

            After graduating from Murray State in 1957, Powless taught and coached basketball and tennis for two years at Florida State. He followed that up with three years as assistant basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati under the Head Coach Ed Jucker. 

            “We had one remarkable undefeated season and compiled an amazing 78-6 record over three years. During those three years, the Cincinnati Bearcats had two back-to-back NCAA titles defeating Ohio State both times, before losing to Loyala University in the NCAA finals in 1963.”

            John’s next move was to the University of Wisconsin where he coached basketball for 13 years and tennis for five. Leaving the University of Wisconsin in 1976, he launched a new tennis career as founder and owner of the John Powless Tennis Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The center opened its doors in 1979, and it’s still going strong with eight hardcourts and two Har-Tru indoors and four hard courts outdoors.

“The club was recognized by the USTA as Club of the Year in Wisconsin as well as Best Tennis Club in the Midwest and was the finalist for the National Club of the Year contest,” John proudly said. “All our programs are very strong, particularly the juniors and the Rising Stars programs. We’re helping to get kids off the streets and onto the courts.”

            “After college, while you were coaching tennis and basketball, did you have a chance to play in any national or sectional tournaments?”

            “This would have been in the late 1950’s, early 60’s,” he said. “That was when I was playing my best tennis. Don Dell was a top professional, Davis Cup captain and later one of the first player reps and sports’ promoters, and he knew everybody in tennis – well, he was always calling me to come East and play in men’s events. So, I did. I’d play at Forest Hills, and some of the other tournaments in the East, and I got into the top 20 in singles and as high as No. 3 in doubles at one point.But, you know, this was all before we had Open tennis in 1968. I still played competitively, but there was no money in the game. That’s why I kept my ‘day jobs’ – coaching. And, to tell you the truth, I didn’t think they’d ever go for open tennis. Boy! Was I wrong.”

            Changing subjects, I asked, “So how did the idea of senior tennis start?”

            “The USTA was never much interested in senior tennis. It actually started with World War II veterans. They fought hard for world peace in the European theatre and occasionally, during leaves, had a chance to play tennis, often with their military counterparts. After the war was over many of them, along with the Canadians, said, ‘Let’s get together.’ They arranged to hold tournaments at a club in Lake Placid, New York every year for years. Draws were established for four singles matches and three doubles. The winner was awarded the Gordon Cup, a handsome gold cup resting on a marble base.

            “After a few years as the average age of the entrants was 45, I decided it made sense to drop the ‘veterans’ title as many of the players were not veterans, including myself – I was only nine when the war started – and rename it ‘Senior Tennis.’

            “The Gordon Cup is still played the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday of July, alternating one year in Toronto, Canada, and the next in Cleveland, Ohio. The Canadian seniors invite some of their best players, and the Americans do as well. Forty-five matches are played over a three-day period, and the winning country is awarded the Gordon Cup. The Davis Cup, by the way, is the only international team tournament older than the Gordon Cup. I often speak at the dinner given by the host country and have a chance to tell old stories of matches won and lost and of longtime friendships made.”

            While John caught his breath, I thought I couldn’t imagine a better after dinner speaker than John with his endless enthusiasm, good humor and raft of stories.

            “We started as a 45-and-over tournament but eventually it grew to a 50-and-over,” John continued. The USTA considered the Gordon Cup merely social, so we decided to recruit top players – Vic Seixas, Bobby Riggs, Gardnar Malloy, the No. 1 tennis player in the U.S. and favorite partner of Billy Talbert, Davis Cupper Tommy Edlefsen,and Lester Sack are just a few of the names I can think of now who played in the Gordon Cup matches. Their participation helped to get the USTA’s attention but still no financial support.

            “But we kept going. Then, Jay Freeman of Little Rock, Arkansas, an aging player and one of the original veteran players, and Roe Campbell from Knoxville, Tennessee, suggested we expand the senior tennis to 55-and-over and call it ‘Super Senior Tennis.’ He said ‘We can’t compete against these 45 and 50 year olds. We have to expand the category to 55s, 60s and even beyond.’

            “So, a clubhouse in Knoxville where Roe was a member placed a cornerstone announcing the birth of Super Senior Tennis. Jay Freeman, Van Zerbie, Joe Cullen, C. Alphonso Smith, Roe Campbell and others were the founders of Super Senior Tennis which has now grown to include even 95-and-over.

            “We still didn’t get any funding from the USTA. They thought we’d never get enough entries to make the tournaments worth it. Van Zerbie, a USTA board member, asked the Board to sanction the tournaments, but when he was turned down, he said ‘The hell with you all,’ offered his resignation and stormed out of the room.

            “After that episode, Van and I talked and settled on a plan. Van was to go back to the Board and ask again for support knowing that the Board would claim we wouldn’t have enough entries. Then I was to get up and say, ‘Listen, this guy, Van, has done so much for tennis, we’ll just hold the tournament anyway. And that’s what we did.

            “So we had to go it alone. We bought our gold, silver and bronze balls, the trophies for first, second and third places, and we set up our own tournaments. We had 64 players in each draw. We had so many entries, they were coming out of our ears! And even today, we have 32 players in the 95s! One of them is Warren Webster, a World War II Thunderbolt pilot. What a character he is.

            “We established Super Senior Tennis, Inc., a not-for-profit organization promoting tennis opportunities and enjoyment for players 55 and above, and we publish the ‘Super Senior Tennis News’ sent free to all the members.”

            “Are you involved in that?”

            “Oh yes, I’m on the Board of Directors and Editor of the SST News. And many years later Senior Tennis spread to the women who have their own organization, the National Senior Women’s Tennis Association [NSWTA] which has its annual meetings in Houston. I’m a life member of NSWTA and go to their meetings every year. I think we’re the only sport now that is totally co-ed with the men supportive of the women and vice versa.

            “And we have every combination of play you can think of: husband and wife mixed, father/son, father/daughter, mother/son, mother/ daughter, grandfather/grandson, you name it.

            John took a sip of water, and I changed the subject.

            “How about your own seniors’ career, John?”

            “You might say, my seniors’ career started early because I played many father/son matches with my Dad. This would have been in the 1950’s when I was playing my best tennis. We won the national clay court father-and-son tournament three years in a row! And now I’m continuing the tradition by playing with my son Jason in father/son events. We’ve won two events and have been the finalists several times.

            “But, I really got into senior tennis when I was in my 40’s, and I’ve been playing it ever since.”

            I asked John how many gold balls he has accumulated, but he didn’t give a number.         
            “I’ve got a bunch because I’ve been fortunate enough to win national titles, but I don’t keep track,” he said. “People always ask me, and I tell them. ‘I don’t know. You can go over to the trophy case and count them up.”       

            Then John changed the subject. “I have to tell you about Charlie Hume. Charlie is 91 years old, and he just won his first gold ball. Now that’s what I call ‘hangin’ in there. It’s remarkable that these seniors persevere, and when they win, especially at 91, it’s such a sweet victory.”

            “That’s a good segue, John,” I said. “Tell me what you most enjoy about playing senior tennis?”

            John replied, laughing, “No match is fun until it’s over.”                  

            “No, really. What are the benefits of senior tennis, and what do you like most about it?”

            “First is the camaraderie and the relationships you develop. I told you about coaching basketball and winning two NCAA titles back to back when at the University of Cincinnati. Occasionally I’ll get a phone call from a player, but in tennis I get phone calls every day from tennis players! 

            “Second, and this is totally unique to tennis – its international aspect. We play cup matches all over the world with players from different nations, and they become friends. I’m leaving to play the Gardnar Mulloy Cup in Croatia. We’re playing at a club on the Adriatic which is spectacular! Some of the countries participating are Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, South Africa, Sweden, Norway and Germany. Many of the players I have played against before. They’re already friends, but there will be new ones, and they’ll become friends too. This sort of international connection through tennis should be expanded into other sports and activities. Maybe then we’d have more understanding and be more tolerant of foreigners.”

            “My third reason is personal. I played senior tennis with my Dad in the ’50’s as I mentioned. Winning the tournaments we did was very special and made our bond even stronger. And the same thing is happening now with my son, Jason. We play father/son tournaments together and enjoy our time working as a team.”

Pausing a few seconds to gather himself, John concluded, “And, with senior tennis you stay fit and engaged. You’re meeting people all the time and enjoying their company. And, just look at the senior players – particularly the super senior players.  They don’t look their age and they don’t feel it either. I can’t think of anything better than that to recommend senior tennis and super senior tennis to all players. They don’t have to play at the level of the ranked players to enjoy the benefits. It’s open to all players.”

            But John wasn’t finished.  He had some tips for all senior players.

            “First, staying injury free is important. That’s not always easy, but we have such advanced medical care that my tennis buddies with bad hips and knees are back on the court with no pain; meds and physical therapy help us heal too.

            “Second, you have to play on a regular basis. When Roger Federer hired Stefan Edberg as his coach, Edberg told him that he had to play more as he got older. To keep himself agile, quick and fit, he needed court time practicing and competing. And we see the results of that now. Federer plays more tournaments and is playing his best tennis.

            “Third, everyone is different so you have to create your own routine. Whatever it is that works best for you – diet, practice, drills, weights, competition, running, walking – should become your routine.  

“And last, you have to be disciplined and tough. When you decide to play competitive senior tennis you must follow your routine and play on a regular basis to be ‘tournament tough.’ If it’s not top level competitive senior or super senior tennis, you still want to win when you go out to play with your buddies and being disciplined is the best way to accomplish that.”

             John Powless’ actions speak as loud as his words.

John Powless


To Road To The U.S. Open Starts In Kentucky For Serena Williams, U.S. Open Updates and The Death of A Tennis Legend – This Week In Tennis

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Serena Williams gears up for the U.S. Open by headlining the return of WTA Tour to the United States in Lexington, Kentucky this week. The U.S. Open made a flurry of announcements this week that also made up a lot of the top news this week in tennis, as you can read below.

 

A New Home Gym And 50 Masks: “Super Careful” Serena Set For WTA Return https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/08/serena-williams-lexington-built-gym-50-masks-lungs-careful-plan-covid-19/89973/#.XzAIpkB1wfw.twitter

‘I Never Expected To Be Playing Here In Kentucky.’ A Tennis Legend Comes To Town https://www.kentucky.com/sports/article244822627.html

Serena Williams Resumes Attempt To Break Margaret Court’s Record https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/sports/tennis/serena-williams-us-open.html

“My Only Dream In Tennis Was To Become Good Enough To Beat Bob Ryland,” Arthur Ashe Once Said. The First Black Pro Tennis Player In U.S. Dies At 100 https://patch.com/new-york/upper-west-side-nyc/bob-ryland-first-black-pro-tennis-player-u-s-dies-100

 

Recovered From COVID-19, Frances Tiafoe Looks Forward to Playing the U.S. Open https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/sports/article/21142488/recovered-from-covid19-frances-tiafoe-looks-forward-to-playing-the-us-open

Plenty Of Rules For Players Coming To New York http://www.tennis-tourtalk.com/60509/plenty-of-rules-for-players-coming-to-new-york

U.S. Open Singles Champs To Make $850K Less https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/29601458

Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens Withdraw from U.S. Open https://sports.nbcsports.com/2020/08/07/elina-svitolina-kiki-bertens-withdraw-from-us-open/

Kim Clijsters, Andy Murray Get U.S. Open Wild-Card Invites https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/29608046

WTT Pulls Off 2020 Season With New York Empire Winning On Sudden Death Point https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/08/wtt-newyork-safety-covid-carlos-silva-coco-vandeweghe/89777/

Boom-Time At Tennis Club As Players New And Old Get Back On Court https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/woodbridge-tennis-growth-in-membership-due-to-covid-19-1-6781196?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social_Icon&utm_campaign=in_article_social_icons

 

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

No, It’s Not The Asterisk U.S. Open

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

One of the statements that has irked me with regard to the upcoming 2020 U.S. Open tennis championships is that it will have an asterisk.

As the U.S. Tennis Association announced that the event will take place as scheduled in this coronavirus pandemic but without fans (and perhaps a few top players), some people voiced their opinion that because of this, the event should have an asterisk next to it when documented in tennis history.

As a tennis historian, I say….hogwash!

If the USTA hosts the U.S. Open and says it is the U.S. Open, it’s the U.S. Open. Period.

I can say, as the editor of “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” book, which is about as close to you can get to an official “record book” for tennis, there are no asterisks in the champions rolls or any Grand Slam event.

You can’t say a Grand Slam tournament is not a Grand Slam tournament just because it has no fans, some of the top players decide not to play or even based on the number of competitors the event has. If the governing body for the tournament (the French, Australian and U.S. Tennis Association’s for Roland Garros, the Australian and U.S. Opens, respectively, and the All England Lawn Tennis Club for Wimbledon) say it is their official championship, it is.

If fan attendance deems whether your event has an asterisk or not, then should Rod Laver’s 1969 Australian Open win (that kick-started his historic second Grand Slam) have an asterisk? The largest daily crowd for the tournament was only 4,500 fans for Laver’s quarterfinal win over Roy Emerson. His final-round win over Andres Gimeno was played in front a very small crowd. Obviously in the late 1800s and early 1900s tennis galleries were more like tea parties. In the 1940s, as Sidney Wood documented in his book “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was,” tickets were given away to try to get some fans to watch the modern-day U.S. Open at Forest Hills.

So, if you say that because some of the top players aren’t playing at a major it should have an asterisk? How about the win at the 1977 French Open by Guillermo Vilas, who won the title when Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis and Manuel Orantes, all top 6 players, did not play? (This was partially due to a ban on players who competed that year in World TeamTennis.) How about the 1968 French Open (won by Ken Rosewall and Nancy Richey) when half the first round matches in both men and women’s singles were defaults due to riots in Paris. Chris Clarey of the New York Times documents this crazy Grand Slam tournament, the first ever “Open” major championship here: : https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/sports/tennis/french-open-1968.html

Then there is the infamous 1973 Wimbledon when 82 men’s players boycotted in support of Nikki Pilic, the French Open singles runner-up who was banned from playing the event because he refused to play Davis Cup for his native Yugoslavia. Jan Kodes, the eventual champion at the event, documented his run to the title in a new ebook “Jan Kodes and the Boycotted Wimbledon: The Story of the Czech Champion’s 1973 Triumph” here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B3342PP/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_Cas7EbSQT43ZC

One of the best examples of events where critics could place asterisks comes at the Australian Open from 1976 to 1982,  when, due to the length of trip and the proximity of the competition dates to Christmas player fields were embarrassingly weak, with an average of about one player in the top 20 in the field. Players who shined include No. 111 ranked Chris O’Neil (the 1978 Australian Open women’s champion), No. 188-ranked John Marks (the 1978 Australian Open men’s runner-up) as well as 1980 men’s champion Brian Teacher and 1979 women’s champion Barbara Jordan. Of course, all the majors played before 1968 were amateur-only events and the best players – the pros – were banned from playing.

Should Kevin Anderson have an asterisk next to his runner-up showing because No. 2 seed Andy Murray withdrew from his half of the draw after the draw was made? The highest and most accomplished player he beat to get to the final was No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta in the semifinals! When Novak Djokovic won the French Open in 2016 should it be said that Rafael Nadal had to withdraw in the third round and thus his title have an asterisk?

Do you place an asterisk by all of Margaret Court’s majors because many only featured 32 to 64 players (many of her Aussie titles had virtually no competition from outside of Australia). I outlined the draw sizes of all of Court’s major wins here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/18604

What about the men’s singles event at U.S. Open in 1975-1978 when for the first three rounds, men’s matches were only best-of-three sets matches while they were the traditional best-of-five starting in the fourth round? Should that have an asterisk? What about the early years of the U.S. Open (and Wimbledon) when the defending champion got a bye into the final?

As Jon Wertheim wrote on SportsIllustrated.com “I think we’re on an oleaginous slope if we start devaluing events because of draws. We say it again: you can beat only the players placed before you. Roger Federer won the 2017 Australian Open by beating Nadal in five sets. He won the following year by beating no player inside the top 20 until he got Marin Cilic in the final. So it goes…Want an asterisk? What about this? Here’s are the first two sentences of Petr Korda’s Wikipedia bio: “He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 2 singles ranking on February 2, 1998 and won the 1998 Australian Open. He tested positive for doping in June 1998 at Wimbledon, was subsequently banned from September 1999 for 12 months, although he retired shortly before the ban.”

Each Grand Slam tournament is it’s own story. It’s a separate book with lots of different characters, with one major plot line – who will be the champion – and lots of different side plots. This is what makes them all so fascinating and why tennis fans follow them more closely than any other event in the sport. Who plays and who doesn’t play is part of each individual story.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

 

USTA Releases Plans For 2020 US Open Tennis Championships

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In a historic decision for the tennis industry and sports fans around the world, the USTA announced that both the 2020 US Open and 2020 Western & Southern Open will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (NTC) in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., this summer. Hosting these tournaments marks an important moment for the sport of tennis, the New York market and the global sporting community as tennis returns to action.

This move creates a month of high-level international tennis at the iconic NTC. The Western & Southern Open, normally held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, will be held just prior, August 19 to August 28.   The US Open will be held August 31 to September 13, the originally-scheduled dates for the main draw of the event.

“These two events are the summer’s biggest tennis blockbusters in the U.S., and we are thrilled for the players, our fans, and all of our partners, that we will be able to mark the return of tennis,” said Mike Dowse, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.  “These tournaments also serve as an inspiration to tennis players of all levels, encouraging them to get out and play, given the social-distancing nature of our sport.”

As part of this decision, the USTA unveiled a comprehensive health and safety plan that has been approved by New York State government officials.  The comprehensive plan was created by the USTA’s US Open team, with input from the WTA and ATP, and in conjunction with the USTA Medical Advisory Group, other medical experts, and noted security officials.

“First and foremost, our decision-making has been guided by ensuring the health and well-being of all who will take part in the 2020 US Open,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Patrick Galbraith.  “After educating ourselves through consultations with experts, and following near round-the-clock planning for three months, we are confident that we have a plan that is safe, viable, and the right thing to do for our sport. This historic undertaking will provide a tremendous boost to the entire tennis industry and community, a boost so needed in these trying times.”

The USTA’s approach to all decisions surrounding the hosting of both the 2020 US Open and 2020 Western & Southern Open followed three guiding principles. In all three instances, the USTA determined that the necessary criteria to fulfill the guiding principles was met, which included:

  • Ensuring the health and safety of all individuals associated with, or part of, the tournaments, and mitigating potential risk factors associated with COVID-19.
  • Balancing decisions on whether the events would not only be safe, but if holding the events would benefit the sport of tennis, including the fans, athletes and the global tennis industry.
  • Determining whether the tournaments could take place in a financially-viable manner for the USTA and for the ATP and WTA players.

Hosting the two events in one centralized location mitigates risk and allows for one cohesive medical, training and competition environment, with safety measures to be put in place, including testing, mitigation measures, sanitization, and other protocols.

In light of the global pandemic, the two events will be modified in a variety of ways.  Due to the inherent issues with holding events which would bring more than one million visitors to the site over the duration of the two tournaments, the decision was made to hold this year’s events without fans in attendance. The size and format of the events will also be modified with this same goal of limiting the number of individuals on site at one time.  This includes players, their entourages, staff, broadcasters, and all others associated with the on-site workings.

“The decision to hold the 2020 US Open without fans was not an easy one, but ultimately it was the correct one,” said Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis, USTA and US Open Tournament Director.  “To mitigate risk, we must minimize numbers on-site.  Though we will not have fans on our site, we will engage with tennis fans around the world in new and exciting ways with the help of our global broadcast partners, and all our US Open sponsors.”

The US Open will feature the Main Draw Men’s and Women’s Singles events, each with the traditional 128-player draw size, and Men’s and Women’s Doubles events, with 32 teams in each competition (down from 64 teams, but limited to Doubles-only players). Since the overall plan requires limiting the number of individuals on-site, the Mixed Doubles, Juniors and Wheelchair competitions will not be held in 2020. The Western & Southern Open will feature its traditional format in Men’s and Women’s Singles, an increased draw of 48 for the Men’s and Women’s Qualifying Tournaments (up from 28 and 32, respectively), and an increased draw size of 32 teams for Men’s and Women’s Doubles (up from 28 teams).

In hosting the two events, the USTA has committed $60 million in total compensation to players.  In addition to prize money and other compensation to athletes competing in the two events, the USTA has also made the decision to provide approximately $6.6 million in additional relief grants and subsidies due to the decision to not hold the Qualifying Tournament and the reduction of the Doubles draws.  These funds will be allocated to the WTA and ATP, which will then make the determination of how to distribute these funds and/or utilize them to provide replacement playing and ranking point opportunities. Previously in 2020, the USTA contributed $1 million to an international player relief fund.

With the formal health and safety plan approved, the USTA will work with tournament broadcast rights-holders and partners to expand the way these events are delivered to the fans at home around the globe, in greater and more innovative ways than ever before.  Details of these plans will be announced in the near future

US Open
US Open

Some Potential 2020 U.S. Open Contingency Plans (Provided It’s Safe!)

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

From 1993 to 2005, I worked in the U.S. Tennis Association’s Marketing and Communications department and, if I was still at the USTA, I would probably be volunteering or be asked to contribute ideas about how to stage the U.S. Open the challenging circumstances of the coronavirus crisis. It is something that I have thought a lot about lately, even when tossing and turning during difficult nights sleeping. Michael Dowse, the new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the USTA, held a conference call with media and stated that a decision on whether to hold the U.S. Open will be made in June and  that it was unlikely the event would be staged if they did not allow fans to attend. In advance of that June decision, here are a few notes and suggestions from my note pad. Obviously there are many other health and safety issues that need to be addressed, but these are just a few ideas provided it is safe to play the event.

  • Should the U.S. Open “social distance” its individual events? Until 1924, the men’s and women’s competitions at the U.S. Championships were held at different times and different locations. Until 1920, the women’s event was mostly played in June and the men’s event was played in late August, early September, now the traditional date on the calendar for the event. Interestingly, the first U.S. women’s championships was held in the late date of September 27 to October 5. From 1924 to 1936, both the men’s and women’s events were held at the same site – the West Side Tennis Club at Forest Hills – but played consecutively with the women’s event being played first in August and the men’s event finishing in September. Could, for this unusual year, the USTA return to this format? Should the women’s event be played starting a week earlier, the week of August 24 which is normally the week of US Open qualies, and end on Labor Day Saturday and the men’s event be played August 31 to September 13? Or vice versa? This would allow for more “spaced out” matches and ease the number of players on site for social distancing purposes.
  • This year marks the first time many major events have not been played since World War II. This pandemic has, itself, been described as a war. During World War II, the U.S. Championships did still occur since the USA was not a war zone. However, the draws were much smaller, only being 32 to 64 players in the singles fields. Obviously under the circumstances, most of the competitors were Americans. Could the same also be done in 2020? Obviously, this would not be popular with lower ranked players who are not in the top 32 or 64 but perhaps they could receive prize money grants in lieu of not playing. Perhaps, during this year, the U.S. Open qualifying should not be held, featuring an additional 128 men and 128 women (plus coaches and friends and family all in the locker rooms wedged with the main draw players). The event could only feature direct entries and those who would have otherwise qualified for the qualifying draw, could receive a prize money grant for not playing.
  • Should doubles not be played for “social distancing” purposes? To also alleviate crowding on site and in the locker rooms, perhaps the doubles events should not be played this year. Two players on the side of the net is against social distancing protocol anyway at the moment, so perhaps the U.S. Open is a singles only event this year. Perhaps the top 50 doubles players in the world could get a doubles payout grant in lieu of not playing doubles at this year’s event. The U.S. doubles tournament used to played the week before the singles in Boston, Massachusetts so, perhaps the doubles and mixed doubles events could be played the week before or at another location to also provide for better spacing and  “distance.” Perhaps in the Bronx at the Cary Leeds Tennis Center, which has hosted the junior qualifying events as well as a WTA event last year could be a site or Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, for many years the home of a pre-U.S. Open WTA event, with one of the largest tennis stadiums in the world.  The Cary Leeds Tennis Center is about equi-distant from mid-town Manhattan as Arthur Ashe Stadium so that is a viable option. Perhaps there could be some consideration to not holding doubles, mixed doubles, wheelchair or junior events.
  • The U.S. Open is always wall-to-wall fans and annually sets attendance records. Perhaps fewer tickets should be sold, such as every other seat in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium and perhaps no grounds passes for this year.
  • Perhaps attending fans and personal would have to wear a protective mask to enter the grounds. Perhaps a U.S. Open sponsor like Chase or American Express could hand out free face scarves or masks once you enter the grounds. These sponsors also giving each fan a hand sanitizer bottle is another idea. In addition, hand sanitizer machines would have to be located throughout the grounds at the USTA National Tennis Center.
  • As Tennis Channel’s Brett Haber suggested on Twitter, perhaps matches should feature only Hawk-eye line-calling to create more “distancing” on court and off and to further prevent bodily fluids from spreading on the courts. This might be too sudden for pro tennis, especially for singles, but perhaps for the doubles or juniors, if they are played. Same goes for ball people as well. Obviously, ball people will no longer be required to handle towels for players.
  • If New York is still not able to host the event it has been speculated that the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in the California desert could be an option to host the event. I remember during my USTA career when the new Indian Wells Tennis Garden was built that, internally at the USTA, there was talk that the U.S. Open could be played there in there was a tragedy or terrorist attack in New York. With temperatures averaging in the low 100s there during the U.S. Open window, this would create a challenging environment for players and fans. While I worked the Olympics in 2004 in Athens, Greece while at the USTA, it was interesting that in the early parts of the event, there was a 10 am and a 5 pm session of events to avoid the brutal heat of the middle of the day in Greece. If the event was played in the summer in Indian Wells, perhaps this is how it could be done. 10 am in California is 1 pm on the east coast, which is when ESPN’s television coverage starts, despite the 11 am local start in New York City.
  • If New York or Indian Wells cannot host the event, why not Los Angeles? With the heat in Indian Wells perhaps being too much as an alternative venue for the U.S. Open, why not Los Angeles where the average temperatures are 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the California desert. There isn’t one venue that could absorb the girth of the U.S. Open, but there are ….two. The 2028 Olympic tennis competition will be held at the facility in Carson, which was the previous home of a WTA event, sponsored by JP Morgan Chase, also the biggest U.S. Open sponsor. Just 20 miles north of Carson is the campus of UCLA, where an major ATP event was held for many years. The stadium there seats about 7,000 fans while Carson seats almost 10,000. Both facilities are the home of USTA offices, the USTA Southern California section at UCLA and a Player Development office in Carson. Both have major facilities as the home of MLS and NFL teams at Carson and the UCLA Athletic Department, including Pauley Pavillion just next to the tennis courts. Players could be located at hotels in downtown Los Angeles, equidistant between both venues. The event would have to be held over three weeks as both venues would likely only able to have eight competition courts between the two. It should be said, however, that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has stated that he doubtful that the city can host large public events until 2021.
  • To create more opportunities for lower ranked players (who may be shut out of playing in the event as outlined above), perhaps look to have the already cancelled U.S. clay-court events in Houston and Charleston be held in the last week of the U.S. Open, to also provide players with clay-court prep for the rescheduled French Open. Perhaps these events could even be Challenger-level events.

We encourage readers to please share any other ideas you have to contribute to this list. As a wise person once said, “There’s no such thing as a bad idea”

On Thursday, April 16, Michael Dowse, the new USTA Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, held a conference call to discuss what the national governing body for tennis in the United States is doing for the tennis industry in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown. Dowse started the call by immediately addressing the status of the U.S. Open stating the following:

“I will start with the US Open. Specific to that, I just want to share with you our approach. In one sense we’re very fortunate that we’re the fourth Grand Slam to go, so time is on our side at this point. Obviously our ambition is to run the tournament. It’s the engine that drives our organization, our governing body. Having said that, that won’t be the driving factor. The driving factor will be the health and wellbeing of the players, the fans and our staff. To that we just don’t have enough information that we can run the tournament safely. We’ve set a timeframe around June to make that decision. The way we’re approaching it is through a medical advisory group. We have five or six doctors that are consulting with us on a regular basis. Based off that information, we’ll ultimately make the decision if it’s safe to play the tournament or not. So stay tuned on that. We’ll open it up to follow-up questions at some point if you have some more questions around the US Open.”

He followed by saying the following, “Playing without spectators, we’re not taking anything off the table right now, but to be honest and open, I think that’s highly unlikely. That’s not really in the spirit of the celebration of tennis. It also goes back to the health and wellbeing of not just the spectators but of our players and support staff that help run the tournament. Unless the medical industry or medical experts come up with a solution that truly is foolproof and safe, we don’t see that as an option. Having said that, things are fluid. If the medical experts come back and say here is a foolproof way of running a very safe tournament, unfortunately it has to be without fans, we may reconsider and look at it at this point. Today it’s just too early to kind of speculate on what the exact specifics will be at that time.”

US Open
US Open

French Open, U.S. Open, Laver Cup Jostle For Positioning Amid CoronaVirus Pandemic

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by Bob Stockton

@BobStockton10

The French Tennis Federation made a surprising announcement that because of the global CoronaVirus pandemic it was moving the year’s second Grand Slam tournament from its traditional May-June slot to begin on September 20.

This makes the clay-court event in Paris being a week after the conclusion of the US Open, with the qualifying rounds for the event start the day after the US Open men’s singles final. The move from Roland Garros also makes its new dates clash with a number of WTA and ATP tournaments as well as the Laver Cup in Boston.

A statement on Lavercup.com read: “The tennis world learned today that the French Tennis Federation intends to schedule Roland Garros from September 20 – October 4, 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. This announcement came as a surprise to us and our partners – Tennis Australia, the USTA and the ATP. It raises many questions and we are assessing the situation. At this time, we want our fans, sponsors, broadcasters, staff, volunteers, players and the great city of Boston to know that we intend to hold Laver Cup 2020 as currently scheduled.”

If the French Open and the Laver Cup both stick to their guns, it raises the possibility of players having to choose between the two events, while two big WTA events are also due to be held in that fortnight in Tokyo and Wuhan in China, ironically, the city where the virus originated.

Many players reacted with surprise and anger, particularly at not being consluted. Wrote Jamie Murray on Twitter: “Strong move by French Open/FFT to move to end of Sept. I thought the powers that be in tennis were supposed to be all about working together these days?”

Canadian Vasek Pospisil, an outspoken member of the ATP Player Council, said “This is such a difficult time. Everyone is being impacted by this catastrophe. Enhancing communication and working together to find solutions should be the priority. Not going rogue and making selfish/arrogant decisions to further impact the tour in a negative way.”

Meanwhile, the U.S.  Tennis Association, which organizes the US Open, put out a powerful statement, hinting that it too is looking at possibly delaying the start of its competition.

“The USTA is continuing to plan for the 2020 US Open and is not at this time implementing any changes to the schedule,” read the statement. “These are unprecedented times, though, and we are assessing all of our options, including the possibility of moving the tournament to a later date. At a time when the world is coming together, we recognise that such a decision should not be made unilaterally, and therefore the USTA would only do so in full consultation with the other grand slam tournaments, the WTA and ATP, the ITF (International Tennis Federation) and our partners, including the Laver Cup.”

Roland Garros
Roland Garros

Vero Beach’s Boulevard Tennis Club In Florida To Host Mardy Fish USTA Pro Circuit Event Through 2022

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The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, Vero Beach’s long-time annual U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit tennis tournament, will be held at The Boulevard Tennis Club through 2022, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation announced today.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and Vero Beach’s premier tennis club signed a three-year agreement last week where The Boulevard will host the men’s professional event in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The 2020 event will be held April 26 – May 3 and will be a $15,000-level event on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour. The event benefits the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, the non-profit organization the benefits at-risk children in Indian River County founded by Vero Beach native son Mardy Fish, the former top 10 tennis star and the current U.S. Davis Cup captain. As part of the agreement, The Boulevard will house and showcase the event’s perpetual trophy, the Rahaley Cup, named for the event founder Mike Rahaley, who passed away earlier this year. The Boulevard will also include the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation in its promotions, including television commercials seen throughout Indian River County.

“We are excited to enter into a multi-year agreement with The Boulevard, which is the epicenter for tennis in Vero Beach,” said Tom Fish, President-emeritus of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation and the father of Mardy Fish. “We are grateful to The Boulevard and its staff for their support of this Vero Beach sporting tradition that serves as our major fundraiser for the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation, which benefits at-risk children in Indian River County.”

The Boulevard has hosted the event eight times since 2010 and has seen such current ATP Tour standout players such as Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov and Kyle Edmund compete in the event there. A 48-player qualifying tournament will start Sunday, April 26 with main-draw play starting Tuesday, April 28 concluding with the singles final on Sunday, May 3.

Founded in 2007, the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation currently supports over 2,400 children in conjunction with several other nonprofit organization as well as 15 elementary schools and six middle schools in Indian River County, Florida by funding after-school exercise, nutritional and enrichment programs in a safe environment to prepare them for healthy, productive and successful lives. The Foundation introduced the “Six Healthy Habits” in 2012 which are Get Sleep; Drink Water; Exercise Daily, Eat Healthy; Brush and Floss; Make Friends. The Foundation’s story can also be seen in a video here: https://www.mardyfishchildrensfoundation.org/a-message-from-mardy/

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships has been played in Vero Beach since 1995 and regarded as one of the best entry-level professional tennis tournaments in the world. Some of the past competitors have gone on to succeed at the highest levels of professional tennis, winning major singles and doubles titles, Olympic medals and Davis Cup championships and earning No. 1 world rankings. Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion who attained the world No. 1 ranking and helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007, competed in Vero Beach in 1999. Thomas Johansson of Sweden, who reached the second round of the Vero Beach Futures in 1995, won the Australian Open seven years later in 2002. Nicolas Massu, the 1998 singles runner-up in Vero Beach, won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, beating Fish in the gold medal singles match. Kyle Edmund, the 2013 champion in Vero Beach, helped Great Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015. Other notable former competitors in Vero Beach include former world No. 2 Magnus Norman, former world No. 4 Tim Henman, 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic and most recently world No. 50 player and teen sensation Denis Shapovalov, who played in Vero Beach in 2016. Former Vero Beach competitors have combined to win 19 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at Grand Slam tournaments. Seven former Vero Beach players have gone on to play Davis Cup for the United States – Roddick, Fish, Taylor Dent, Jared Palmer, Donald Young, Ryan Harrison and Frances Tiafoe.

For more information on the event, including ticket and sponsor information, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org. Admission for children 18 and under is free. Sponsorships are available by contacting Treasurer/Executive Director Lynn Southerly at LSouth1072@gmail.com or co-tournament directors Tom Fish (Tfish@aol.com) and Randy Walker at (Rwalker@NewChapterMedia.com). Fans can follow news and developments on the tournament on Facebook and on Twitter at @VeroFutures.

The Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships have an annual economic impact of approximately $500,000 per year on the Vero Beach local economy. Approximately 3,000 fans annually attend the event, which is seen as one of the best-attended events entry-level events in the world.

Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan and the Kazakhstan Davis Cup team won the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships at the Boulevard beating Sekou Bangoura of the United States in the final. Sixteen-year-old Zach Svajda of San Diego, who advanced into the main draw of the 2019 event at The Boulevard via the qualifying rounds, jump-started an incredible summer of tennis in Vero Beach in 2019, winning the USTA National Boy’s 18s Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan and earned a main draw spot at the U.S. Open, becoming one of the youngest men ever to compete in the U.S. Championships. He lost in the first-round to Paolo Lorenzi of Italy in five sets after leading two sets to love.

The Boulevard Tennis Club, located in Central Vero Beach on Indian River Boulevard, is the fastest-growing tennis club in Vero Beach, featuring 13 clay tennis courts and world-class tennis instruction and programming for all levels of players. The club is also the home of the highly-regarded restaurant and bar Counter Culture, which is open to the public six days a week. For more information, go to www.BlvdTennisClub.com

 

Dimitry Popko hitting a forehand at The Boulevard Club during the 2019 Mardy Fish Children's Foundation Tennis Championships
Dimitry Popko hitting a forehand at The Boulevard Club during the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships

The Beautiful Disaster of Davis Cup

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Davis Cup is my favorite competition in tennis, perhaps in all of sport. I’m not sure if it still is in this new format that just made its debut in Madrid, but the jury is still out on that.

I grew up watching this fascinating sporting event in the 1980s when ESPN would broadcast the matches involving the U.S. team. I loved players competing for their countries and also playing in exotic locations like Asunción in Paraguay, Bucharest in Romania and Goteborg in Sweden among others. What I also came to love about this storied competition was its quirkiness.

Strange things happened at Davis Cup. As they said “Anything can happen in Davis Cup” and this usually applied to the results in matches, where relative unknown players would rise to the occasion of playing for the country and upset much higher-ranked players, who would sometimes wilt under national pressure.

As I read more about the history of Davis Cup – and while fulfilling a dream of serving as the press officer for the U.S. team from 1997 to 2005 – I was enamored and entertained by the stories and anecdotes of many of the off-court Davis Cup unpredictabilities and the quirky disasters and controversies that you wouldn’t get at your normal ATP or WTA event. There are many stories about biased “homer” linespeople making calls in favor of the home team, crazed and passionate fans with their national chants, songs and sometimes threats thrown at opposing players, matches being played on crazy surfaces like indoor wood, cow dung and even a circumstance in Charlotte, North Carolina during the 1971 Davis Cup Final where a court had be to lit on fire with gasoline to dry it to be suitable to play on!

Some of the wackiness of Davis Cup I got to experience myself. In 2015 ten years after I stopped working for the USTA, I was contracted to work the USA vs. Uzbekistan tie in Tashkent. During the opening match between Stevie Johnson and Denis Istomin (one of the most dramatic matches I’ve ever seen in person as I wrote about here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/12490) the stands at the Uzbek National Tennis School were jam packed. However, it was filled almost exclusively with students, all wearing the same outfit, a white top and dark pants/skirt. It looked like an Uzbek day version of a “White Out” at a Penn State football game. And then, when the match was over, every single student left and the second match of the day between Jack Sock and Farrukh Dustov was played in front of only a few dozen fans. Talk about weird!

Then there was the time in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2003 when in an absolutely critical  moment in the tie, the entire lights went out in the arena of the brand new Slovakian National Tennis Center. Freshly-minted U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick, in his first event since becoming a Grand Slam tournament champ, had just been shockingly upset by Dominik Hrbaty to put the USA in the 0-1 hole and Mardy Fish, now the U.S. Davis Cup captain, was facing break point down a set and at 5-5 in the second set against Karol Kucera when the arena went pitch dark! Terrorism against the U.S. team was immediately what came to mind, but after everything settled and the lights went back on after a lengthy delay, Fish served three aces/service winners to hold serve, then broke Kucera to win the second set en route to saving the day for the USA in a four-set victory.

During the USA vs. Zimbabwe World Group first round tie in 2000, a heavy African rain storm during Andre Agassi’s match caused for the tin roof – yes TIN ROOF – of the arena to leak and cause for a slight delay in play. The phone lines in the arena weren’t of the highest standard and when the American media complained to the International Tennis Federation representative in attendance, he just shrugged. What was he to do? Re-wire the entire nation’s telephone grid? I remember waiting almost an hour before I could send a publicity photograph of U.S. captain John McEnroe at Victoria Falls through email. This was kind of a 20-years-ago problem with the modern-day Davis Cup app not being up to par. Also during that series, Grace Mugabe, the first lady of Zimbabwe, refused to sit next to USTA President Judy Levering after Americans in the audience held signs that made light of Zimbabwe’s petrol shortage at the moment. This was part of the Davis Cup’s kookiness and what made it, for me, something you had to watch because you kind of felt like there would be some sort of train wreck that you just had to watch.

Enter the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid.

In the first year of this new condensed one-site, one-week event, there were quite a few wrinkles in what was, in theory, a first-year start-up event. Let’s start with many of the early matches not involving the home country being played in front of sparse crowds. It certainly created another weird Davis Cup atmosphere, similar to what I experienced in Tashkent. However, this has happened on bigger stages as well, like the 1973 Davis Cup final in Cleveland featuring all-time greats Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe of Australia against Stan Smith and the United States that didn’t even feature 5,000 fans in attendance for any one of the three-day sessions, despite the event featuring so many all-time greats.

In the 1978 Davis Cup Final in Southern California desert, only 300 fans were in the stands at the end of Buster Mottram’s win over Brian Gottfried that evened Britain up at 1-1 over the John McEnroe-led American team after the first day of play, as you can read about here: https://www.si.com/vault/1978/12/18/823253/the-kid-didnt-kid-around-john-mcenroe-19-played-his-best-tennis-and-was-on-his-best-behavior-winning-two-matches-as-the-us-beat-britain-in-the-davis-cup After McEnroe and U.S. won that 1978 Davis Cup title, it was said that McEnroe was the player who saved Davis Cup as interest in the event rose with this charismatic champion showing so much passion for this storied competition that until then had started to grow a bit stale. Some could say that Rafael Nadal’s performance in leading Spain to the 2019 title in Madrid could have a similar effect.

I also remember a poorly attended USA vs. Italy Davis Cup semifinal in Milwaukee in 1998 that I worked at during my run as press officer for the U.S. team. The biggest cheer on the final day that featured two dead-rubber matches after Italy had already clinched the 3-0 upset came in the middle of a point when the local Green Bay Packers NFL football team scored a touchdown and fans in the stands, with the radio broadcast of that game in their ear, expressed their pleasure. There was also a match between Israel in Sweden in Sweden that was played in front of ZERO fans as threats of terrorism against the Israelis caused officials to have the event played in private!

The point here is that Davis Cup matches without many fans happens sometimes and is just part of the peculiar ebb and flow in the history of the event sometimes. Of course, the biggest crowds to ever watch sanctioned (non-exhibition) matches have been in Davis Cup. The Davis Cup Finals in Lille, France in 2014 featuring France against Roger Federer and Switzerland featured a world record crowds daily of 27,432. The 2017 and 2018 Davis Cup finals in Lille against Belgium and Croatia, respectively, also were played in front of 26,000 daily fans. The Spain-Argentina and Spain-United States ties in Seville, Spain also featured then world record crowds of 27,200 fans daily. For years, the world-record standard for largest crowd to watch a Davis Cup final came in 1954 when Tony Trabert and Vic Seixas upset Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad in front of daily crowds of 25,578 fans at White City in Sydney, Australia. Many of the Davis Cup ties in the 1960s in Australia featured sell-out crowds of 20,000-plus fans. A massive interest in Davis Cup also necessitated the construction of Stade Roland Garros in Paris (now the home of the French Open) for the 1928 Davis Cup Final between Bill Tilden and the USA against Rene Lacoste and the “Musketeers” of France.

Other quirks from this year’s edition of the event was the flawed round-robin system where a team’s advancement in the quarterfinals hinged on percentage of sets and games won, which the players, captains, fans and media could not calculate without a mathematician nearby with a calculator. The tournament app was extremely flawed and U.S. television coverage was awful and not treated with the respect it deserves. Many matches also finished well after midnight, including the now famous and historic 4:04 am finish between the United States and Italy (As documented here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/17812), which is the second-latest finish on record in tennis history. Would this match be as remembered or as famous if it finished at 4 pm? No, and that is part of the unusual, dare I say “charm,” of these seemingly endless unusual circumstances that you find more often than not in Davis Cup.

Much was written and tweeted about Roger Federer’s absence from the Davis Cup in Madrid and him playing exhibition matches against Alexander Zverev in South and Central America in front of huge crowds, including a world record 42,000 in Mexico City. Top players not playing Davis Cup is also part of long history of Davis Cup dating back to the first series in 1900 when both Britain and the United States were without their top players, but not because of politics or scheduling but because they were recovering from injuries and sickness sustained in the Boer War and Spanish-American wars, respectively.

All those who have played in, worked at, attended or watched Davis Cup tennis have some quirky Davis Cup story of some glorious happening or some unusual misfortune. It’s all part of the beautiful disaster of Davis Cup. The 2019 version is just another chapter.

 

Rafael Nadal and his Spanish teammates celebrate winning the 2019 Davis Cup
Rafael Nadal and his Spanish teammates celebrate winning the 2019 Davis Cup

Alex Bogomolov, Victor Estrella, A Pair of Stinky Adidas Sneakers and How Randy Walker Got A Bud Collins Nickname From The 2003 Pan Am Games In The Dominican Republic

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

They say that before you judge a man, you should walk a mile in his shoes. However, can you judge a man after playing a big-time tennis match in his shoes…. literally?

Former top 40 pro Alex Bogomolov can certainly be the fairest judge of yours truly after one of the strangest circumstances, certainly in his tennis career, my media career and quite possibly in the history of the sport. The unusual and now laughable circumstance earned me one of the great informal recognitions in tennis, an official nick-name from the late, great tennis journalist and personality Bud Collins.

The scene was Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic, at the 2003 Pan American Games, which is the once-every-four-years gathering of North, Central and South American nations in a mini-Olympics style competition. I was there in my role at the U.S. Tennis Association as the press officer for the U.S. tennis team. In that time, the Pan Am Games was kind of at a level just below the Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams in the “Team USA” pecking order. The U.S. men’s team was led by Alex Bogomolov, who was ranked No. 117 in the world at the time, and also featured 1999 NCAA singles champion Jeff Morrison and 2000 NCAA singles champion Alex Kim. The women’s team featured Sarah Taylor, Ansley Cargill and Carly Gullickson. Former U.S. Davis Cupper Eliot Teltscher was the men’s coach and former U.S. Fed Cupper Debbie Graham was the women’s coach.

The matches were played at the brand new Centro Nacional de Tenis, just near the Faro a Colon, a lighthouse memorial to Christopher Columbus, who was the first European to visit the island of Hispaniola, on which the eastern part makes up the Dominican Republic.

The event was highlighted by the presence of former world No. 1 Marcelo Rios of Chile, who was the No. 1 seed (and eventually lost in the gold medal match to Fernando Meligeni of Brazil). Bogomolov was the No. 2 seed and in his opening match faced a talented 23-year-old Dominican player named Victor Estrella, who was ranked No. 865.

The two battled for almost three hours on the stadium court in the brutal August heat and humidity in front of a loud and rowdy crowd of Dominican fans, some equipped with drums and other percussion instruments that created an amazing Davis Cup-like atmosphere. Estrella showed that he was way better a player than his 800-ranking indicated and nearly beat Bogomolov, falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.

The U.S. contingent and Teltscher were very impressed with Estrella and sought him out in the locker room to offer encouragement and congratulations on an excellent match. I remember Teltscher saying that if only Estrella had more money and more opportunities, he could really become a good player. Remarkably, it was eight years later when he eventually cracked the top 200 in the ATP rankings and another three years after that becoming the first player from the Dominican Republic to break into the ATP top 100 at the age of 34! After the U.S. group saw Estrella in the locker room after the match it was immediately evident that he needed medical treatment as he went into a full, extreme body cramp and our U.S. Olympic trainer Adam Pecina jumped to immediately treat the stricken Dominican player. “Bogie” as he was affectionately known, was offered an IV by Pecina after the match, but declined. As was common in the Dominican Republic at the time, there was a “brown out” that night as the power went out at our hotel and we all had to gather at the pool by tiki torch light – and in the humidity – and eat food prepared off the hotel’s poolside open grill.

The next morning at the U.S. team hotel, I sat for breakfast and was soon joined by Bogomolov. I noticed immediately how red his face was and remarked to him that he looked terrible. I asked him if he had an IV the day before and he said he didn’t think he needed one. Pecina soon joined us and Bogomolov changed his mind and requested an IV. Getting an IV before a match was indeed an extreme measure.

Since Bogomolov was one of the “second-on” matches on the daily schedule that day, it was decided that he would stay behind with Pecina and get his IV and our bus driver Geraldo would drop off the first wave of our players for the 9 am matches and then return to the hotel to pick up Bogomolov and Pecina. I decided to stay behind as well and would go over with Bogomolov. It was agreed that our team administrator Mary Carlisle White would go with the first wave of players and would stay in touch with me as to the status of the match on court before Bogomolov’s match was to start. Again, this was  before the time of live scoring on web pages and iPhones.

At about 9:45 am, as the first wave of matches got under way at the national tennis center, I got a call from White, who was on site: “You guys better get over here. The match before Bogie’s match is already at 6-0, 2-0. So he could be on the court in like 20 minutes.”

The courts were about 30 minute drive away and traffic in Santo Domingo was always unpredictable. I ran to Pecina’s room to get Bogomolov and get him to the courts. I found him with the IV needle still in his arm.

“We have to get going now,” I said. “The match before yours is at 6-0, 2-0 so you need to get there now.”

Bogomolov told Pecina to take the IV out of his arm and we quickly went to the front of the hotel, where our driver Geraldo was waiting for us. We told Geraldo, a resident of Santo Domingo, the urgency to get to the courts and he sped his way through the streets of Santo Domingo like he was Sandra Bullock driving the bus around Los Angeles in the movie “Speed.” After cruising through the crowded and chaotic streets of Santo Domingo, where stop signs and traffic lights were almost optional, we pulled into the tennis center. Just as Bogomolov walked to the tournament desk, his match was called to the court. He made it in the nick of time and avoided being defaulted.

He ran into the locker room to get his match clothes on but soon emerged with his face nearly as red as it was earlier in the morning at breakfast before his IV.

“Where are my shoes? My shoes! I can’t find my shoes!” he screamed in panic.

Bogomolov was there is in his full match outfit, but standing in the hallway with only his socks on. In the rush to get the courts, he left his match sneakers in his hotel room.

“Randy Walker! I left my shoes in my hotel room,” he shouted at me. “What size shoe do you wear?”

I was sporting a brand new pair of Adidas size 10.5 white sneakers. I had only worn them for two days after I received them as part of USOC Team Processing, where all representatives for Team USA received official merchandise.

“I’m a 10-and-a-half,” I responded, sheepishly, realizing that I probably would have to give them up for the greater cause.

“I’m a size 11,” said Bogie. “But let me try them on.”

I kicked off my shoes and tossed them to Bogie. He wedged his feet tightly into the shoes.

“This will have to do,” he said, tossing me a pair of sandals to wear as he grabbed his racquet bag and went off to the court where he was to play Pablo Gonzalez of Colombia.

My shoes served Bogie well. He advanced into the quarterfinals wearing them with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win. The heat and sun was so oppressive that Bogie called for a toilet break during the match, where he threw up. He said if it was not for some perfectly-time cloud cover, he probably would not have finished the match, not to mention the pre-match IV.

He walked over to me after the match and gave me a high five and we laughed. He then dropped the completely soaking wet sneakers, now also with scuffs from the hard courts, at my feet. At least he didn’t throw up on them. I got quotes from Bogie on his match where he was happy to credit “Randy Walker’s shoes” that he joked made him run extra fast.

Later in the afternoon, after all the USA team matches were done, I was dropped off at the USOC press center which was at a school in downtown Santo Domingo. I walked into the press center barefoot, holding my soaking wet, stinking sneakers.

The first person who saw me was Bob Condron, the head of media services for the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“What’s going on with the shoes?” he asked.

I told him the story of my shoes were a vital accessory in the Pan Am Games competition earlier in the day. He shook his head and laughed. “That’s a great story,” he said.

As I sat and typed up my game story for the day and had to subtlety mention my own involvement. Soon, Condron called out my name and said he wanted me to meet someone. He introduced me to an American reporter named Steve Springer from the Los Angeles Times who was covering the Pan Am Games. “He wants to do a story on your shoes.”

I happily relayed the events from earlier in the day and Springer took it all in and filed his story called “Missing Sole But Not Heart” (available to read here: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-aug-07-sp-panamtennis7-story.html). Condron also typed up an official U.S. Olympic Committee news story press release on the episode. As news of my Pan Am caper circulated around the tennis world – Sports Illustrated (“nada zapatos“) and the Associated Press among many other media outlets writing about me and my shoes – I got a flurry of emails from friend and colleagues. The most memorable email came from Bud Collins, known best for his work at the Boston Globe and NBC Sports who was well-known for bestowing nick-names to some of the biggest tennis stars in the world, like Steffi Graf being called “Fraulein Forehand” or Jimmy Connors as the “Brash Basher of Belleville. I now was being added to this illustrious list of people to get a nickname from Collins as in his email, he officially anointed me as “Gringo Good Shoes.” It stuck. Every time I saw Bud and his wife Anita at tennis events around the world, at the U.S. Open or in phone conversations or book signings for his “Bud Collins History of Tennis” book that I ended up being the publisher for, I would always be greeted as “Gringo Good Shoes” or sometimes just “Good Shoes” for short.

The shoes eventually dried and I popped them in the washing machine when I got back home to the USA and wore them for a while, even at one point at the U.S. Open posing for a photo with Collins while wearing them. I eventually retired them, but couldn’t stand to throw them out. I still have them in my closet, a prop to one of the most unusual moments in my tennis media career.

As a side note, Bogie and I continued to have our special bond, that soon transferred to his older sister Katia, who soon became a co-worker of mine at the USTA for a brief time. She and I also became friends and soon after that, I introduced her to my friend Patrick Holness, who soon became her husband! And, to boot, they got married on my 39th birthday.

 

Randy Walker - and his famous Pan Am Games shoes - with Bud Collins
Randy Walker – and his famous Pan Am Games shoes – with Bud Collins

 

Sixteen-Year-Old Zach Svajda Gets Attention of ESPN, New York Times, Andy Roddick In U.S. Open Loss

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Sixteen-year-old Zach Svajda of San Diego joined the likes of Aaron Krickstein, Jimmy Arias and Michael Chang as American men to play in the main draw of the U.S. Open as a 15 or 16-year-old when he played what was a quintessential opening day U.S. Open drama.

Svajda, the winner of the USTA National Boy’s 18s Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan, battled against a seasoned veteran in Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, 21 years his senior at the age of 37 and a “lucky loser” entrant into the event when 2017 U.S. Open finalist Kevin Anderson withdrew due to injury. Svajda displayed amazing guile and shot-making and took a two-sets-to-love lead, but at 3-3 in the third set, began to show signs of cramping which affected him for the rest of the four hour, 20-minute contest that was eventually won by Lorenzi 3-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

“I was just going to finish it out, even if I couldn’t stand or move,” said Svajda in his post-match press conference. “I would just underhand serve or something. I wouldn’t default.”

Svajda, a slightly built but growing 5-8, 140 pounds, was hitting serves in the 110 mph range at full tilt, but could only serve in the 75-90 mph range when he was affected with the cramps in his upper left and right quad muscles. However, his crafty play and defensive skills kept in the match, leaving him three points from victory a few times late in the fourth set.

As the match progressed into a fourth and fifth set, the New York crowds descended and surrounded Court No. 5 at the USTA National Tennis Center in a standing-room-only environment. Fans chanted his name “Svi-JA” and “Let’s Go Zach” and ESPN television gave the match attention during its broadcast. Former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick watched the match on TV and texted USTA National Coach Dean Goldfine that he was impressed with the young Svajda. The New York Times smelled the significance of the match and reporter David Walstein wrote an excellent article on what may have been the best match of the first day of the tournament here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/sports/tennis/zachary-svajda-us-open.html

Playing in the U.S. Open as a young teenager as not a guarantee for future success. A history of young men to play at the U.S. Open can be found here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/17141

U.S. Open fans will get another chance to see this talent in the event’s second week when the U.S .Open junior championships will be held.

(This article was originally posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2019)

Svajda’s post-match interview transcript can be found here:

 

Interviewer: Have you played anyone older than him in a match?

SVAJDA: I have not. No.

Interviewer: No.

SVAJDA: No. He’s very experienced. Yeah, a lot of experience. But no, first time.

Interviewer: Talk about just the experience out there and the atmosphere And then the crowd, and they were behind you, what was it like?

SVAJDA: Yeah that was amazing, the crowd was amazing. I loved it. They were with me every point, everything. It was a great atmosphere. For sure.

Interviewer: Talk a little bit about how your life has changed since we saw you in Vero Beach.

SVAJDA: Right.

Interviewer: You were playing in the quallies of a futures event. Won a couple rounds, played some more futures and so forth. Won Kalamazoo, just talk a little bit about how your life has changed a bit since we saw you in Vero Beach.

SVAJDA: Right, yeah. From Vero Beach, I won, got qualified, won a round. But, just going back in Orlando training also with my coach and everything, but I think the training blocks really helped me. Especially in Kalamazoo. Because seven matches, eight matches, so I think that was good for me, a lot of matches. But, I played well at Kalamazoo.

Interviewer: Talk a little bit about your decision, you turned professional. This is your first pro tournament?

SVAJDA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Interviewer: Just talk a little about what went into that decision, I mean, obviously you went into Kalamazoo with 16 is a great achievement.

SVAJDA: That’s always been my goal, going pro but I mean the family, and the coaches and everything were for it, so I thought it was the right decision… to do.

Interviewer: I know you haven’t played a lot of tournaments, are you going to kind of stick to that pattern or do you expect to play

SVAJDA: I’ll probably do more, yeah, if they want me, I’ll do a lot of matches. Yeah, I’ll do the juniors here, and futures, challengers, go back. But, not too many juniors, maybe the Grand Slams, but that’s about it.

Interviewer: So, the Juniors and the Grand Slams?

SVAJDA: The Junior Grand Slams.

Interviewer: But what kind of tournaments do you think you’ll play the rest of the year?

SVAJDA: Challengers. Futures, maybe. HP’s, I don’t know.

Interviewer: I know you’ve been hitting with some of the top pros, talk about your relationship with John and some of the other top pros and what that experience has been like. What they say to you, give you advice.

SVAJDA: Yeah, John is great, I practiced with him last year in Dallas, so I go up there occasionally. We have the same in Orlando, and some of the pros there, and it’s great. They know what they’re saying. They said enjoy it and stuff, enjoy your time. Sure did all that.

Interviewer: Did you hit with Federer? At the-

SVAJDA: I did at Indian Wells. Yeah.

Interviewer: How was that?

SVAJDA: That was awesome. It was four days? Three or four days. But it was awesome. Great guy.

Interviewer: Were you nervous?

SVAJDA: I was pretty nervous in the beginning. Then after, I was just used to it I guess ’cause I practice with some of the pros. Yeah, the beginning I was nervous.

Interviewer: He must have liked hitting with you, right?

SVAJDA: Yeah.

Interviewer: Because he brought you back.

SVAJDA: Yeah. He was requesting me.

Interviewer: You were cramping during the match. How many times? And when did it start?

SVAJDA: It started in the beginning of the third set.

Interviewer: Okay.

SVAJDA; And it was just my legs a little bit, but then after a few games, a full body cramp. My back, feet, fingers, everything.

Interviewer: Did you ever suffer that cramping? Or it was first time in your life?

SVAJDA: That was my first time. First time.

Interviewer: But, how could you go on for two more sets if you had the cramping, the beginning of the third set, how could you go on for two hours?

SVAJDA: Right. It was tough. But, just trying to stand up. It was tough. It was off and on. That’s why I couldn’t really hit my serve. I would go for my serve and then my whole body would cramp up. So, I just had to spin it in, not use my legs or anything. So, it was tough.

Interviewer: Was there any thought of stopping? Or, you were going to finish it out?

SVAJDA: No, I was just going to finish it out. Even if I couldn’t stand or move. I would just underhand serve or something. I wouldn’t default.

Interviewer: And when you went to the fifth set you were thinking that even if you were cramping you still had chance to win?

SVAJDA: Yeah. I thought the whole match I had a chance to win, even though I was down. I thought I could come back. But, I just didn’t give up. It didn’t go my way. But, it’s fine. Just take it as learning. Definitely positives out there.

Interviewer: Your background is Czech, whether you speak Czech?

SVAJDA: I don’t. No.

Interviewer: Your father does?

SVAJDA: No. He does not. He’s adopted. So, it’s from his dad, or something. Or granddad. I don’t know.

Interviewer: Do you take a lot of confidence in that you’re 16 years old, there’s been a lot of great players who’ve played in this tournament, at age 16, 15, Jimmy Arias, Aaron Krickstein, Donald Young, etc, do you take a lot of confidence in that you’re now included in this group at this age?

SVAJDA: Yeah, yeah, I do. I do. Even losing the match, yeah I’ll definitely take it as confidence. I won’t get down on myself too much.

Interviewer: There’s a lot of people that are really almost desperate to see an American male player get to the top, and do you feel that? Do you feel the fans are really hoping…

SVAJDA: I’m starting to now, yeah. Yeah, I’m starting to now.

Interviewer: Out on the court with all those people cheering for you, you can feel it?

SVAJDA: Yeah, definitely, felt it.

Interviewer: How’d you feel when they were chanting your name?

SVAJDA: Oh, that was pretty cool. Yeah, I’ve never experienced any of that in my life. I loved it. It was awesome. Great atmosphere out there.

Interviewer: You gonna play the Juniors? Or you gonna-

SVAJDA: I’ll play the Juniors, yeah. I think that’s next week? Or something.

Interviewer: You going to be the favorite?

SVAJDA: I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t have a ranking or anything. So, I probably won’t be seeded. ‘Cause I don’t play any juniors. I play two ITF’s, so that was it. It will be fun.

 

 

Zach Svajda
Zach Svajda

Vero Beach, Florida Stadium Court Debut Not Unlike Arthur Ashe Stadium Debut For Randy Walker

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Every Tuesday night, the beautiful Boulevard tennis club in Vero Beach, Florida hosts an advanced men’s night where some of the best tennis players in this tennis-loving beachside paradise are invited to play in a social but competitive two-hour round robin outing.

On Tuesday, October 1, 2019 during this twilight session, I finally had my first chance to play on the Stadium Court at The Boulevard, the main court for the annual Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, the long-time a U.S. Tennis Association Pro Circuit and ITF World Tennis Tour event that is regarded as the best of this level tennis tournament in the world. Despite being a home-owner in Vero since 1998 and for the last five years running the previously mentioned pro tennis tournament along with Mardy Fish’s father Tom, I had yet to hit a tennis ball in this main stadium court at The Boulevard. This court is the most well-regarded in town, having featured most recently such players as Denis Shapovalov (as seen here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH9vtD127e0), Kyle Edmund and Miomir Kecmanovic playing on it during the USTA Pro Circuit event.

However, circumstances that happened to me on this night quickly reminded me of the first time I played on another Stadium Court, a slightly larger one in New York City, that being Arthur Ashe Stadium, the home of the U.S. Open.

I just turned 50 years old in May (during the actual staging of the 2019 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships) and, on this breezy night realized I may have just had my first “senior” moment.  As I stepped out of my car at the club to get ready to play the men’s advanced night, I grabbed my tennis bag out of the back seat of my car only to quickly realize that there were no tennis racquets in the bag!! Where were they? Were they stolen? I remembered that the last time I used my racquets was two days earlier during a casual Sunday morning hit with my friend Linda Maginness at my mother’s club, The Moorings on the other side of town. I vaguely remember taking all of my racquets out of the bag in the middle of one of our deep talks about Southeastern Conference football. (She is an Alabama grad and I’m a University of Georgia grad). I realized that I left the racquets on the court at The Moorings!!! I quickly called their tennis pro shop and they said that my racquets were safely there and I could pick them up the next morning. My panic somewhat subsided.

Meanwhile, for the advanced men’s night, which featured some former Division I college players, as well as, on occasion, 1986 French Open runner-up and Vero Beach resident Mikael Pernfors, I didn’t have a racquet to use. I ran into my new poolside tennis condo around the corner  from the courts (which is available for rental here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/37823857?s=5&shared_item_type=1&virality_entry_point=1&sharer_id=149337030)  and rummaged around my tennis chest and found two Wilson graphite Pro-Staff racquets that were popular in the late 1980s and 1990s. It was the racquet that Stefan Edberg famously used when won the 1991 and 1992 U.S. Open titles. I could either play with those racquets or a wooden Dunlop Maxfli Fort or Jack Kramer Autograph. Obviously, I had no choice there.

With my ancient Wilson Pro Staff, that was only 90 square inches and loosely strung with dull-feeling “Pro-Blend” string that may have been in the racquet for at least 10 years, I was assigned to play for the first time on the Boulevard’s Stadium Court. I started to hit balls in the warm-up and felt no zing that I normally feel with my Wilson Burn FST racquet that I love and have used since I was first sent it as a trial racquet from Wilson a few years ago. (WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RGlKtPEJIs)

I had a hard time putting the ball in the court in the warm up and worry and panic immediately engulfed me that I was going to embarrass myself on the court this very evening. It was a feeling and circumstance that was very similar to the first time I had the amazing privilege of playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1999, the third year the stadium was in use after debuting in 1997. On that day, I was invited into a doubles game on the cavernous and wind-engulfed open air stadium that seats 23,000 fans (only 22,700 more than the steel bleachers at the Stadium at The Boulevard) during a pre-U.S. Open social game. However, this social game was with the top brass at the USTA. I was paired with USTA President Judy Levering in a game against Rick Ferman, the Executive Director of the USTA and Pierce O’Neil, the Chief Marketing Officer of the USTA just days before the start of the U.S. Open. There was a little bit of pressure there, playing with, arguably, the three biggest honchos at the USTA as mid-level member of USTA’s Marketing and Communications Division. As a former walk-on member of Georgia’s 1988 and 1989 SEC Championship teams (with an 0-7 career record), I could play some good tennis and I had risen to the occasion playing against USTA top brass in the past, practicing once with Hall of Famer Pam Shriver when she was a USTA Board member and in her last year competing on the WTA Tour, and in perhaps an all-time set of tennis, beating Ferman 6-0 the first time he invited me for a morning singles game shortly after he assumed the head job at the USTA. That was an all-time “zone” set for me but shaky in the job security department.

After a 15 minute warm-up session alongside Levering against Ferman and O’Neil, I hit my last practice serve and… boink. A string in my racquet broke! And I only had one racquet with me!

“Just use my other racquet,” said Ferman, who handed me a one of his extras out of his bag and we immediately started the match. I did not have a chance to hit one practice ball with a completely different racquet, with a different string tension and a different grip size. And I was playing with all of my bosses, on Arthur Ashe Stadium!! Not surprisingly, it was the worst and most embarrassing set of tennis I think I have ever played. I barely could hit a ball in the court. It was probably the most pathetic performance in the history of tennis on Arthur Ashe Stadium and it completely ruined what should have been one of the great experiences of my life.

Fast forward 20 years to the much smaller confines of The Boulevard Stadium Court and I had very similar feelings of anxiety with this strange racquet that I was wielding for the first time in years! But at least I got to warm up with it and Andrew Harper, my partner and real estate guru in Vero Beach, held his own in our doubles match that featured former Vanderbilt University singles player Cliff Norris as one of our opponents. As the night wore on, I gradually got better and more used to the ancient racquet frame. After playing, and losing, the first two matches on the Stadium Court at The Boulevard, I played my third and final doubles set on Court No. 2. My feel was coming back a bit and I actually played quite well in the final games of the night, ripping some great returns and hitting some Edberg-like volleys and half volleys to save three match points in the tiebreaker in a losing 8-6 effort to end the night.

“You played three times as well tonight as you did earlier this summer when we played,” was the nice compliment said by one of my opponents Marcus Kramer, a former standout at Virginia Tech, who had beaten Vince Spadea and 1991 NCAA singles finalist from Georgia Patricio Arnold in his career.

So, the night ended on a somewhat positive night, just as my career on Arthur Ashe Stadium actually did years later. I had a few more chances to hit on Ashe to make up for my disaster in doubles from 1999. The last time I had a chance to hit on the court was before the 2003 U.S. Open, when the USTA wanted to get some play on the court after it had just been resurfaced. I remember remarking at the time after a fun and much more positive hitting session that the court was playing incredibly slow.

“The way these courts are playing, it’s going to be a Juan Carlos Ferrero versus David Nalbandian U.S. Open final” I remember remarking, referencing the reigning French Open champion Ferrero at the time and fellow leading slow-court/clay court standout Nalbandian from Argentina. And I was almost right as Ferrero got to the final, where he lost to Andy Roddick, who saved match point against Nalbandian in the semifinals.

 

Randy Walker with his Wilson Graphite Pro Staff at The Boulevard
Randy Walker with his Wilson Graphite Pro Staff at The Boulevard